Hello, 你好, and Bonjour! My name is Tao; I'm from New York City, and I'm a proud first-generation student. I'm currently interested in studying applied math and learning a new language (French, with the intent of studying abroad using my D-Plan!) at Dartmouth. I love being immersed at campus–especially aesthetic Woccoms, fookie grubs at FOCO, and Baker-Berry Tower Room study sessions. Come one, come all: let me take you along!
Academic Program
Mathematics and Quantitative Social Science with a minor in French
As the name describes, this class taught me all about food! While the class is centered on teaching academic writing skills, I have definitely learned a lot about fun topics like food diversity, ethical farming, and culinary significances. For my final project, I got to write about how sauces relates to our society!
Friends, before we dive in, I'd encourage you to check out Part 1 of this article!
No worries if you're clicking on this now—are you curious about venture capital at a liberal arts school? Five other Dartmouth undergraduates and I have been preparing for the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC), a global challenge where students take on the role of venture capitalists. In just 72 hours, we analyze startups, interrogate founders, and pitch our best investment decisions—all while being judged by real investors.
And this time, Dartmouth is headed to the 2025 New England Regional VCIC, hosted at Boston University, where we'll go head-to-head against Amherst College, Tufts University, NYU Stern, the University of Connecticut, and SMU Sobey.
The Competition Breakdown Recap
Two days before the event, each team receives pitch decks for three startups. From there, it's a race against time—we dive into market research, analyze business models, and debate which company deserves our investment.
On the competition day:
Founders pitch their companies live.
We get private Q&A sessions with the startups while judges score us on our questions.
We deliberate, finalize our investment decision, and submit a deliverable explaining our rationale.
We present our investment thesis to the judges.
The final scores are revealed—and a champion is crowned.
All of this happens in just one weekend.
To Boston!
The energy was high, and so were the stakes. By Thursday night, our team was deep in late-night research mode—consulting professionals, dissecting industry trends, and yes, stressing out just a little. But we knew we were ready.
By Friday evening, after class, we packed our bags and caught the Dartmouth Coach to Boston. Thanks to the free Wi-Fi (lifesaver!), we squeezed in three more hours of research before arriving at a very cold South Station. A quick Uber ride later, we checked into our hotel—where the real work began.
The Final Stretch
If you thought we'd relax after arriving… nope. We powered through until 4:47 A.M., refining our strategy and preparing for the next day. Fueled by caffeine and adrenaline, we sifted through data, argued overvaluations, and made last-minute tweaks to our approach.
Competition Day: Game On
Running on three hours of sleep, we grabbed coffee and headed to Boston University's Questrom School of Business, ready to go. Here's how it played out:
Morning: Founders pitched their startups.
Midday: We grilled them with questions while being scored by judges.
Afternoon: We finalized our investment choice, submitted our deliverable, and pitched our thesis.
Evening:The results were in… and we won!
Victory & Beyond
When the judges announced Team Fir as the winner, I could barely believe it. After days of research, sleepless nights, and intense deliberations, we secured first place—winning a $1,000 check for Dartmouth and a spot at the Global VCIC Finals this April at UNC!
Looking back, I never imagined I'd be doing this as a first-year student, but Dartmouth has a way of making the impossible feel possible. Whether it's venture capital, research, the arts, or anything in between—there's a place for whatever you're passionate about.
Stay tuned for my next blog post—see you at the Global Finals!
Entering a new environment miles away from home, knowing little to no people at first, can feel daunting. However, Dartmouth's support systems, particularly through the First Generation Office (FGO), have been nothing short of incredible.
